Weymouth Relief Road wall of mud (From Dorset Echo)

Weymouth Relief Road wall of mud

12:00pm Friday 16th July 2010 in News By Adrianne Maslen

Tony and Norma Lee with the large soil bank at the bottom of their garden

A RETIRED couple say their lives have been made a ‘living hell’ after a 10-foot wall of mud was dumped outside their house.

Tony and Norma Lee are literally living in the shadow of the Weymouth Relief Road with major works going on behind their home in St Andrew’s Avenue.

Their house backs on to Weymouth Rugby Club, where Dorset County Council is building a new park and ride site, re-laying Rugby pitches, and creating a cycleway and footpath.

Mr and Mrs Lee said they have put up with two years of noise, dust and disruption, and the constant battles with the council and main contractor Skanska are making them both ill.

They say it is also hampering Mr Lee’s recovery from major heart surgery, which he underwent in January.

The couple were left ‘devastated’ this week when they returned from holiday to discover the mud wall had been built up outside their house, obliterating their view of the rugby pitches and surrounding countryside.

Mr Lee, 62, said: “They have made our life a living hell for the last two years.

“We understand they have got to do the work and people need a walkway and cycle path, but we thought we would still have a view.”

Mr and Mrs Lee were told the mud bank would be built up by one metre to meet the level of the new rugby pitch.

Retired milkman Mr Lee said: “We were devastated when we saw it. We would like it to be level with the pitches so we can look out across the rugby pitch.

“We called Skanska and they said they were only doing what Dorset County Council told them and it was only built for our privacy, but nobody asked us which we preferred.”

The couple are concerned about the impact it will have on the value of their house.

Mrs Lee, 62, a retired bank clerk, said: “If we wanted to sell it now we wouldn’t have a hope in hell because it must have knocked thousands off the value of the house.”

Their neighbour Stephen Hix, 58, said: “We knew there was going to be some disruption but we didn’t expect it to go on for two years.”

Another neighbour Lyn Robinson, 64, said: “We’ve not had any outdoor life for two years, we can’t have our windows open because the house gets filthy, and we can’t sit in the garden because of the noise.”

Dorset County Council Weymouth Relief Road project manager Matthew Piles said: “A bund has been built around the site for landscaping purposes.

“After residents raised concerns about the height of the bund, the contractor has agreed with them that the bund behind their properties will be reduced to one metre. We understand this has allayed their concerns.”

The council said work started on the landfill site in April 2009 after the Easter break.